Don’t have space in your backyard for an inflatable jumpy house? Yeah, me neither.

How do you entertain a bunch of preschool age boys for two hours during my son’s fourth birthday party? My solution? Throw an old-fashioned birthday party incorporating three easy, inexpensive activities. The kids had a blast and all the mommies raved that it was one of the most fun birthday parties they’d been to in a long while. (And as we all know it’s nice to have the recognition of your fellow mommies…call it like it is girls!)

Two hours is the perfect length for a preschooler’s birthday bash. Just enough time to get them in, tire them out and send them home to (hopefully) nap. Any longer and the kids and parents get burned out and cranky.

11:30AM – 11:55AM – Guests Arrive

Kids are thrilled to see their friends to be somewhere besides their own house on a Saturday. Moms are too. Offer parents a delightful beverage.

12:00 Noon – Birthday Activity #1…Sack Races

I was at this amazing upscale toy store and saw a box of four gorgeous primary-colored sacks made especially for sack races. It retailed for $16.95. I thought not. My linen closet is loaded with old pillow cases and I used them.

The trick is to get involved yourself. I was a “Super-Silly-Loud-Mommy.” I yelled, “OK, time for sack races!” I got into a pillow case myself and started hopping around and making goofy faces. The kids thought it was a gas  and they all grabbed a sack and started jumping with me. All my mommy friends now have blackmail material to last a lifetime. We didn’t really “race” per se…we jumped and it was fun. The whole thing lasted about five minutes.

After the thrill wears off, it’s time to point out your lovely buffet selection to the parents. I “catered” mine using Chevy’s Restaurant. I highly recommend their sampler appetizer platter for the grown-ups, a plate full of cheese quesidillas and a whole mess of chips and salsa.

12:30PM Birthday Activity #2 Volcanoes

Yes, you read it right…Volcanoes. If you’ve not heard of The Ooey Gooey Lady, Lisa Murphy you must check out her site for loads and loads of fun experiments and games to do with your kids.

Her original recipe called “Bubbling Eruption” can be found in the book: Even More Fizzle, Bubble, & Wow. I experimented with it several times and tweaked it a bit to suit my tastes. Here’s my version:

Volcanoes by The Good Enough Witch

For each child you’ll need:

1 recycled 2 liter soda bottle

1 sheet of construction paper

1 cup baking soda

1 1/2 cup of vinegar in a big cup

Other necessary equipment:

Funnel, colored markers, tape

1. Prepare the volcano bottle.

Pour baking soda into the bottle using the funnel. Write the child’s name on the construction paper. Wrap the construction paper around the bottle and tape it in place. (My construction paper didn’t wrap all the way around the bottle, but the kid’s don’t care. Give them bright colors and their name and they’re happy.)

2. Pre-measure the vinegar into cups…one per child.

3. IMPORTANT STEP: Aerate the baking soda! Right before you put out the bottles, place the heel of your hand over the bottle opening and shake, shake, shake that baking soda up. This puts a little air in between the soda granules, allowing space for the vinegar to penetrate and creating a much more whiz-bang eruption.

4. Make volcano eruptions!

Line the kids up (somewhere outside that you don’t care about the mess).

Place their bottle in front of each kid.

Create a big fan fare, “Are you ready for a volcano?!?!? Yeah? Here we go!” Then YOU (Mommy or other adult) pour the vinegar in from a height of about 2 – 3 feet. Some will spill…it’s OK.

Shout “Hooray! Woo-hoo! Yeah!” And watch the bubbly mass spew forth. Little boys dig this stuff.

If you’ve got a lot of kids, have another adult help you and make two volcanoes erupt simultaneously.

1:00PM – Birthday Activity #3 Pinata

Notice how you’ve been building excitement with the sack race followed by the volcanoes? Now it’s time for the big wow of the party…the pinata.

Pinata

You’ll Need:

One pinata

Some type of container for the kids to collect their individual pinata booty. I found small beach buckets for $0.75/each. I’ve seen other moms use extra drink cups or party favor bags.

Someplace sturdy with plenty of room around it to hang the pinata.

A stick or baseball bat (if you go the “hit it open” route…see below)

Go to a party store or online Birthday Express online and you’ll be presented with a plethora of pinatas from which to chose. I recommend getting one with the strings (they are pull strings) whether you want the kids to hit the pinata or not. Load it up with treats galore. (Note:they do sell big two pound bags specifically designed to be pinata loot.)

Pulling the String

Obviously, if you don’t want your kids hitting anything (and you’re allowed, it’s your house), then the pull-string pinata is great. Each kid takes a turn at the pinata by selecting and pulling on a string. Only the “special string” will release the contents

Hitting the Pinata Open

If you go for the whack-a-pinata party I have a few tips. First for preschoolers, don’t try and do the blind-fold, spin the kid around and try to hit the pinata maneuver. That’s a pretty frustrating exercise for kids this age. Just let everyone take a turn hitting it once or twice.

Second, go through the line of kids twice at the maximum. After that it gets boring. When you sense the kids getting antsy, lean over and grab all the strings on the pinata and PULL. (Perform this maneuver as the pinata swings about from good solid hit from the birthday boy/girl.) All the candy drops. Kids go wild. I guarantee you won’t have to pick up one single piece of candy.

1:15PM – Time for Cake or Cupcakes

Watch the pinata fervor carefully and just before it dies, walk out with the birthday cake or cupcakes (my son is a cupcake maniac) singing “Happy Birthday.” Everyone gets the final sugar rush and the party ends on a high note before any meltdowns occur.

1:30PM – Guests Begin Departure

Thank your guests for coming and have your child hand out the goody bags to each friend as they exit. (If you’re on a tight budget, their little bucket of pinata goodies absolutely count as the party favor! I’ll write you a note if anyone gives you grief!)

What have you done in pursuit of the perfect kid birthday party? Share your ideas with us by leaving a comment below or joining in our forum discussion.

Cynthia (The Good Enough Witch) is a freelance writer and mommy living in Northern CA with her son Alex, four cats, eleven fish and one great hubby Dave. Visit her blog at www.thegoodenoughwitch.com.